Quote: Originally Posted By swamphawk22 on 7/27/2009
So I realize that anytime anyone suggests there is something wrong with HBD a samll but fanatical group rise up to deploy their verbal suicide bombs against anyone proposing change. For the record...
1 There are far to few SSs of HBD standards in the game.
2 The SSs in the game are commiting far to many errors.
3 This does not seem to be user error as much as a systemic issue.
1. HBD states that the big league averages are 80/85/85/85. What you apparently fail to understand is that any SS that you find with at least 80/85/85/85 ratings will be by definition
above average as soon as he has at least one rating greater than the stated averages. IOW: a shortstop with 85/80/80/90 ratings may have some below average component ratings, but on the whole he will approximate a big league average shortstop. He may have slightly more errors on slightly more chances than average, but on the whole, he'll give you roughly
average performance.
OTOH a shortstop that meets or exceeds all of the average ratings, for example 82/85/85/85, will probably over time be slighlty better than average. For purposes of finding the number of
average or better shortstops in a world, it'd probably be more indicative to find how many have combined ratings of at least 335 (80+85+85+85). As a rule of thumb, you'll find that just about any SS that has at least 80s across the board is pretty darn close to
average.
2. Nope. Given the stated definitions it seems pretty accurate to me.
3. It's all about the user. I've got 4 teams and without too much emphasis or thought about this issue, I've got at least 2 SSs in each organization with above average ratings across the board. I've also got at least 2 more in each organization with at least 80 across tha board. IOW, in every organization I have at least 4 ML quality fielding SSs. If anything, that may be too much. And yes, most of them can't hit their way out of a paper bag - but that's true in real life as well. How many prime of career ARods should there be in your league?